Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1887-06-15
COST OF GOVERNMENT.
The Vast Sum Necessary TO Cover the
Expenditures of the Nation.

A statement has been made up
showing the amounts appropriated By
Congress at its late session for the sup
port of the Government for the year
which will end June 80, 1888. The
total sum is about two hundred forty
eight and a half million or dollars.
There were two appropriation bills that
failed to become law-the River and
Harbor bill which the President
neither approved nor vetoed, and the
Deficiency bill, which was passed by
both branches of Congress, but could
not be prepared for the Presidents
signature before the time of adjourn
ment. If we add the fourteen million
dollars appropriated by these two bills,
and the forty-eight millions required
to pay the interest on the public debt
to the sum above mentioned, we have
three hundred and ten million dollars
as the amount deemed by Congress
necessary to meet the current annual
expenses of Government.
Tho corresponding expenditures dur
ing Washington's administration ay-
eraged less than six million dollars
year. The population Is fifteen times
as great as it was then; the expendi-
ture is fifty times as great. Yet this
Is not an evidence OF extravaganza, be-
cause the Government does for the
people vastly more than it did in the
time of Washington.
The largest single item Of appropTia-
tion Is that for pensions. No less
sum than eighty-three million dollars
is granted for this purpose for the fiscal
year. This sum alone would have paid
all the ordinary expenses of the Gov
ernment, except interest, for the first
eighteen years under the Constitution.
or until 1SUS. Next comes the post
Office. taking fifty-iive and half mill
lions, but of this amount more than.
fifty millions will te derived from
postage and other revenues OF the de-
partment. The charge of the army is
little less than twenty-four millions.
The appropriation for the navy is
larger than usual, almost twenty-five
millions, because some new ships are
to be built. Most of the salaries paid
to officers of the United States. and to
Congress. are provided for in the Leg
islative, Executive and Judicial Ap-
propriations act. This act covers a
sum Of twenty and half millions more
than 1t was twelve years ago, when the
population was much smaller than it is
now. A great variety of matters are
provided for under the bill known as
the Sundry Civil Appropriations act
the mint; constructieg, repairing and
warming and lightning public build
ings; the life saving service; light
houses; collecting the revenue; paying
back duties wrongly assessed; and a
great many Others. This act appropria-
ted twenty-five millions, this year,
about the usual amount.
We have thus accounted for all but
about seventeen million dollars of the
appropriations. which are disposed OF
thus: Indians, five millions; District of
Columbia. four millions; Ministers and
Consuls. abroad, one million and a half;
Agricultural Department, one million;
Military Academy. half a million; and
the rest for miscellaneous small pur-
poses.
Although there are some abuses in
the Government, the public service Il,
OA buO al
that will compare credita5ly, for econ
omy and efficiency, with that of any
other country in the world For ex-
ample, the British civil service, which
is so much praised, costs nearly thir-
teen million dollars, or twice as much
as the corresponding service in this
country, although the population Of the |
United States oatnumbers that of the |
United Kingdom by twenty-five mil.
lions.
1t is quite beyond the bounds of |
human possibility to expend the three |
hundred millions and more which the |
pays out every year with
out some of it going to waste, by being
paid TO people who are not entitled to
lt; but we succeed as well as any other
country in limiting these abuses. This
success, however, should not have the
effect of leading the people to cease
their efforts still to improve tie service.
We must also remember that an iE-
population must mean an in
crease Of expenditures; and that the
march Of civilization itself is constant
y adding to the requirements which
he people make of their Government,
while every new function OF Govern
neat adds TO the cost Of maintaining